Phillipa Anne Soo[a] (born May 31, 1990) is an American actress and singer. Known for her leading roles on Broadway primarily in musicals, she has received two Grammy Awards along with nominations for a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Soo was born in Libertyville, Illinois. She is of half-Chinese descent; her paternal grandparents emigrated from China to the United States. Her father is a doctor and her mother, who is from Southern Illinois, is involved in the arts.[6]
Soo appeared in the title role in the pre-Broadway engagement of Amélie at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from December 2016 to January 2017. Amélie then began preview performances on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on March 9, 2017, opening officially on April 3.[11][12] The show closed on May 21, 2017.[13] That same year Soo returned on Broadway as Rebecca in The Parisian Woman, an original play by Beau Willimon. The production began preview performances at the Hudson Theatre on November 7, 2017, and opened on November 30 for a limited run through March 11, 2018.[14]
In 2022, Soo portrayed suffragistInez Milholland in Shaina Taub's musical Suffs. The production premiered Off-Broadway at The Public Theatre to positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly declared, "Soo, best known for originating the role of Eliza Schuyler in Hamilton, grounds the story with her poignant voice, infusing Inez Milholland with emotion and vulnerability so striking, you're reminded of why she's so closely associated with another woman who wrote herself into the narrative."[15] The production opened on April 6 and ran a limited run through May 29, 2022.
In 2013, she was cast in a small recurring role in the NBC television series Smash as the character Lexi. She appeared in five episodes in the second season before the show's cancellation.[23] She had a small supporting role as Nia in the 2014 television pilot Dangerous Liaisons, but it did not get picked up to series.[24]
Inspired by Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, the character she played in Hamilton, Soo started the Eliza Project initiative in partnership with Graham Windham, the first private orphanage in New York City that is mentioned in the last song at the end of the show. Through the program, Soo plans to provide students at the Graham School with acting, dancing, and rap workshops. According to Soo, the core mission of "The Eliza Project" is "to use the arts as a means of expression, as an outlet for personal experience, and to uplift the creative spirit."[27]
Personal life
Soo became engaged to actor Steven Pasquale in February 2016.[28] They married on September 24, 2017.[29] In 2019, the two starred opposite each other in an episode of The Code.[30] She has a dog named Billie, which she adopted for her 30th birthday in 2020.[31] She and her husband practice Transcendental Meditation.[32]
^Green, Jesse; Phillips, Maya; Collins-Hughes, Laura; Heller, Scott; Soloski, Alexis; Vincentelli, Elisabeth (December 5, 2022). "Best Theatre of 2022". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
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